Honestly, it’s kinda rare for an indie dramedy from 2012 to still be a comfort watch for people over a decade later. But here we are. When you look at the stuck in love movie cast, it’s basically a time capsule of "actors who were about to become huge" mixed with "vets who never miss."
Josh Boone, the guy who eventually gave us The Fault in Our Stars, really swung for the fences with his directorial debut. He didn't just want actors; he wanted a specific vibe—that intellectual, slightly pretentious, but deeply hurting writer family vibe. And somehow, he got Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Connelly to play the central, messy divorced couple.
The Borgens Family: A Breakdown of the Core Stuck in Love Movie Cast
If you haven't seen it in a while, the movie follows the Borgens family over the course of a year. Everyone is a writer. Everyone is obsessed with their own journals. It sounds like a recipe for a very annoying dinner party, but the cast makes it feel real.
Greg Kinnear as Bill Borgens Kinnear is the king of the "sad-but-trying" dad. In this film, he plays a successful novelist who hasn't written a word since his wife left him three years ago. Instead of writing, he stalks her. He literally "jogs" past her house to spy on her and her new, younger, much-fitter husband. It's creepy, but Kinnear plays it with this poetic, pathetic charm that makes you root for him anyway.
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Jennifer Connelly as Erica Connelly doesn't get as much screen time as the others, but she’s the emotional anchor. She’s the one who left. Usually, in these movies, the person who leaves is the villain, but she brings this layer of "I just needed to breathe" that makes the divorce feel complicated rather than one-sided.
Lily Collins as Samantha Borgens Before she was in Paris, Lily Collins was Samantha, the 19-year-old cynic who just got her first book published. She’s the one who hates her mom for leaving and refuses to believe in love. Her performance is actually pretty sharp—she has to play someone who is intentionally abrasive to keep people away.
Nat Wolff as Rusty Borgens Rusty is the baby of the family and a massive Stephen King fan. Nat Wolff plays him as the quintessential awkward high schooler who is "stuck" on a girl with a lot of baggage. Interestingly, Nat actually helped get the movie made. He was friends with Liana Liberato (who plays his love interest, Kate) and they basically bugged each other to read the script until it started moving.
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The Supporting Players Who Stole the Show
While the family is the heart, the people circling them are what make the stuck in love movie cast so balanced.
- Logan Lerman (Louis): He plays the guy who has to break through Samantha’s "I only do one-night stands" rule. Fresh off The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Lerman brought that same "good guy but not a pushover" energy.
- Kristen Bell (Tricia): She’s the neighbor who is basically Bill’s "fitness-and-hookup" coach. She’s hilarious and brings a much-needed lightness to a movie that can get a bit heavy with its own metaphors.
- Liana Liberato (Kate): She plays the "pretty girl with hidden problems." Her chemistry with Nat Wolff is one of the more grounded parts of the film.
- Patrick Schwarzenegger (Glen): A smaller role, but he plays the frat-boy type that Samantha uses to avoid real feelings.
That Weird Stephen King Cameo
One of the coolest facts about the production is the Stephen King cameo. Since Rusty is obsessed with him, Boone wanted King to actually appear. He doesn't show up in person, but he provides a voice cameo on the phone at the end. It’s a total "full circle" moment for the character and, honestly, for Boone as a fanboy director.
Why the Casting Matters More Than the Plot
If you look at the reviews from 2013, critics were sort of "meh" on the script. They called it "writerly" and a bit "too clever for its own good." But almost every review praised the stuck in love movie cast.
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There is a specific scene—the Thanksgiving dinner where Samantha announces her book deal—that shows why this group worked. The tension between Collins and Connelly is thick enough to cut with a knife. You can tell they actually liked working together, even when their characters were at each other's throats. According to behind-the-scenes interviews, Boone used to have a bulletin board in his room as a teenager with pictures of actors he wanted to work with. Jennifer Connelly was on that board. Talk about manifesting a career.
How to Watch and What to Look For
If you’re revisiting the film, keep an eye on the background details. The movie was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina (standing in for a beach town), and it has that very specific "early 2010s indie" aesthetic—lots of soft lighting and acoustic music.
- Look for the journals: Every character has a specific writing style that matches their personality.
- The music: The soundtrack features Bright Eyes and Elliott Smith, which tells you exactly what kind of emotional state these characters are in.
- The Age Gaps: It's interesting to see how the movie treats the "first love" of Rusty vs. the "jaded love" of Samantha vs. the "broken love" of the parents.
Actionable Insight: If you're a fan of the stuck in love movie cast, your next logical step is to check out The Fault in Our Stars (also directed by Josh Boone and featuring Nat Wolff) or The Perks of Being a Wallflower to see Logan Lerman in a similar, though slightly more dramatic, role. Both films capture that same "literary-leaning" emotional weight that makes Stuck in Love a cult favorite.